Ten Cardinals Are Tokyo Bound

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville is sending 10 athletes to the Games of the XXXII Olympiad as the Cardinals, who will represent 10 different countries, make their way to Tokyo, Japan.

The Cardinal contingent consists of Zach Harting (Swimming - USA), Tatiana Salcutan (Swimming - Moldova), Andrej Barna (Swimming - Serbia), Grigory Tarasevich (Swimming - Russia), Marcelo Acosta (Swimming - El Salvador), Murilo Sartori (Swimming – Brazil), Merissah Russell (Women's Basketball – Canada), Ayeisha McFerran (Field Hockey – Ireland), Ben Williams (Track & Field – Great Britain), Matt Hughes (Track & Field – Canada). In addition, Jordan Nwora (Men's Basketball -- Nigeria) could also join the Nigeria roster following his appearance in the NBA Finals with the Milwaukee Bucks.

For the first time in 57 years, the city of Tokyo will welcome athletes from across the world to participate in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. A year after its original scheduled date, the Games will kick-off July 23 and run through August 8, 2021. During this time, it is anticipated more than 11,000 athletes from 206 nations will gather to compete across the region. Team USA is expected to send roughly 650 athletes – the largest team size in delegation history.

SWIMMING
Card Nation should keep an eye on USA Swimming's Zach Harting, one of six UofL swimmers at the Games. The Cardinal Forever will compete in the 200-meter butterfly. Harting punched his ticket to the Tokyo when he held off the field to win the 200-meter butterfly with a time of 1:55.06. The event was one of Michael Phelps' most successful races and it will be the first time since 2000 that someone other than Phelps will be on the blocks in that event. The 53-person U.S. swimming roster for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 was decided at the highly competitive U.S. Olympic Team Trials in June 2021. The U.S. has won an all-time world-best 556 medals.

Harting, a 15-time All-American and 3-time ACC Champion at UofL, has an extensive international career. He qualified for the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships, his first USA "A" team ever, by finishing second in the 200 butterfly at the 2018 National Swimming Championships. At the Pan Pac Championships in Tokyo, Japan Harting won a bronze medal in the 200m butterfly with a new best time of 1:55.01. At the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, Harting placed sixth in the 200m butterfly. Harting was a member of the inaugural International Swimming League (ISL) representing DC Trident. He competed at the first two matches held in Indianapolis, Indiana, and Naples, Italy, respectively. In 2021, he won the 200m butterfly at the 2020 US Olympic Swimming Trials, qualifying to represent the United States at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Also swimming for the Cardinals, but under a different flag, will be sprinter Andrej Barna, who swims for his native Serbia. Barna, a 17-time All-American and four-time ACC Champion still has a year of eligibility left with the Cardinals. A two-time Serbian National Champion in the 50M and 100M Freestyle in 2020, he also silver-medaled in the 200M Freestyle and the 50M Fly. In 2019, he represented Serbia at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships held in Gwangju, South Korea where he competed in the men's 50M Freestyle event as well as in the 4 × 200 M freestyle relay event. In 2018, he won the gold medal in the 4 × 100M freestyle relay event at the 2018 Mediterranean Games in Tarragona, Spain.

Joining him will be Moldova's Tatiana Salcutan, who had a standout freshman season with the Cardinals, adding valuable backstroke depth to their lineup. At the NCAA Championships, she finished 20th in the 200 backstroke (1:54.19) and 43rd in the 100 backstroke (53.56). At the ACC Championships, she placed sixth in the 200 backstroke (1:54.04), 14th in the 100 backstroke (53.44), and 40th in the 200 individual medley (2:03.20). Her time of 1:54.04 at ACCs broke the UofL freshman record by nearly a full second. Salcutan posted six top-6 finishes throughout the abbreviated dual meet season, highlighted by a win in the 200 backstroke against Cincinnati.

This will be Grigory Tarasevich's second Olympics. The Speed School graduate was named to the Russian Olympic team on the strength of his performance in the 200 backstroke at the 2021 European Championships in May. Tarasevich, who represented Russia at the Rio Games, just missed the FINA A-standard of 1:57.50 at the Russian Olympic Trials in April, placing second with a 1:57.54. He swam at the European Championships and posted a time of 1:57.41 in the prelims in Budapest, earning him a spot on the team. He was an 18-time All-American for the Cardinals and eight-time ACC Champion.

El Salvador's greatest swimmer was also the Cardinals' distance expert. In 2016, Marcelo Acosta became the first swimmer from El Salvador to qualify for the Olympic Games with an "A" cut. Acosta won the 1500m race with a time of 15:13.09 at the third stop of the Arena Pro Series in Orlando. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Acosta finished 22nd in the 1500m Freestyle with a new national record at 15:08.17. At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships, Acosta finished in 14th place in both the 800 m Freestyle at 7:55.70 and the 1500m Freestyle at 15:04:79. At the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Games, Acosta set the Games Record in the 1500m Freestyle at 15:22.43. At the 2015 Pan American Games, he carried the Salvadoran flag into the stadium. He holds the Salvadoran records in the 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters, 800 meters and 1500 meters. Acosta was a four-time All-American and ACC Champion for the Cardinals.

Murilo Sartori is the youngest Cardinal to swim at the Olympics. The incoming freshman won the bronze medal in the 200m free at the 2019 World Juniors with a time of 1:47.39 and finished eighth in the 100m freestyle in 50.30. He swam even quicker in the semifinals with a 50.01. Sartori also competed at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games for Brazil, winning a silver in the 4×100 freestyle relay with a 50.55 on the lead-off leg. He split a 49.24 and 1:47.04 on Brazil's freestyle relays at the Junior Worlds. He qualified as a relay swimmer in the 4x200 free relay.

TRACK AND FIELD
During this year's Track and Field competition, there are 24 men's events, 23 women's (women do not have a 50km walk) and, will feature the new mixed 4x400m relay as track takes the global stage. Without Usain Bolt, the track universe will have to find a new star as the world's fastest runners compete July 30 to Aug 8. Most of the competition will unfold in the Olympic Stadium although marathons and walk events will be held in Sapporo, where the endurance athletes can escape the heat of a Tokyo summer.
USA Track & Field is coming off world-leading performances at the Olympic Games Rio 2016, where Team USA won the most medals at 32, and the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, where the U.S. again led in medals with 29. The winningest country in the history of Olympic track and field, Team USA brings medal potential across the board, with a strong mix of veterans and newcomers all looking to make their mark in the Japanese capital. The team includes 13 returning medalists from Rio, six reigning world champions and eight NCAA national champions from the 2021 season.

Representing the Cardinals in Track and Field will be former UofL standout Matt Hughes, who was named to Canada's roster to compete in the 3000m steeplechase at the Tokyo Olympic Games. This marks the second Olympics for Hughes, who placed 10th in the 3,000m steeplechase at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, achieving Canada's best-ever result in the event. He has competed in his signature race at four IAAF World Championships, setting the Canadian national record of 8:11.64 at the IAAF World Championships in 2013. Hughes also took gold at the 2015 Pan American Games. Currently ranked No. 16 in the world, Hughes is one of only two Canadian men to meet the Olympic qualifying standard of 8:22.00 in the steeplechase. The other is John Gay, who recently achieved the feat at the Canadian Olympic Trials.

The Oshawa, Ontario native competed for the Cardinals from 2008-11 and became the first Louisville athlete to win an outdoor national title in 2010 when he captured the 3,000m steeplechase at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He then repeated in 2011, winning the event in 8:24.87 which still stands as the school outdoor record. Hughes was also a three-time BIG EAST champion, winning the steeplechase in 2010 and 2011 and the 5000m run.

Former Cardinal star Ben Williams will represent Great Britain in the triple jump at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Williams, a native of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, is making his first Olympic appearance after recovering from a knee injury which caused him to miss out on the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the Rio 2016 Olympics and the London 2012 Olympic Games. Currently standing at No. 21 in the world, Williams became the first British triple jumper in seven years to hit the Olympic standard with a leap of 17.14m (56-2.75) when he won the gold medal at the European Athletics Team Championships in August 2019. He went on to achieve a lifetime best jump of 17.27m in the first round of the British Championships to claim the national title and secure an Olympic berth. He also qualified for the 2019 World Championships where he finished in 10^th place with a jump of 16.77m (55-0.25). Previously, Williams had finished second at the 2017 Team Championships Super League with a leap of 16.73m (54-10.75). In 2009, he won the triple jump at the IAAF World Youth Championship.

Williams, who competed for the Cardinals from 2013-16, was a two-time NCAA All-American, earning first team honors in 2015 and second team in 2016. Additionally, he won back-to-back ACC titles in the triple jump in 2015 and 2016. He also owns the school triple jump record of 16.74 (54-11.25) which secured a fourth-place finish at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
While the Cardinals' most successful Olympian and two-time gold medalist Angel McCoughtry will not be in Tokyo this year, the U.S. women's basketball team is still ranked No. 1 in the world in the FIBA World Ranking and ride a 49-game Olympic winning streak into the Tokyo Games. Team USA has an all-time 66-3 win-loss record at the Games and have won a record eight gold medals, one silver medal and one bronze medal in 10 appearances since women's basketball was introduced to the Olympic program in 1976. The team's 49-0 Olympic winning streak dates to the 1992 bronze-medal game.

The Olympic women's basketball tournament will consist of 12 nations, some of which have medaled in recent Olympic Games, while others advanced to the 2020 field for the first time in history. Spain (silver) and Serbia (bronze) joined the U.S. on the podium in 2016, and in 2012 it was France (silver) and Australia (bronze) rounding out the medalists. Those teams will join Canada, Belgium, China, Japan, Nigeria, South Korea and Puerto Rico in the Olympic tournament. Belgium and Puerto Rico will be making their Olympic debuts.

Louisville sophomore guard Merissah Russell was selected as an alternate on Canada's women's basketball team that will compete at the Tokyo Olympic Games. In mid-June, Russell competed for Canada at the FIBA Women's AmeriCup in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She helped lead Canada to a perfect 4-0 record in pool play and a trip to the semifinals. In the win over El Salvador, she had nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep, while adding two steals. She had six points on 2-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc in a win over the U.S. Virgin Islands. She played in 20 games during her freshman season at Louisville, averaging 2.2 points and 2.2 rebounds. She scored a season-high eight points in wins over Southeast Missouri and Bellarmine.

FIELD HOCKEY
While Team USA, which placed fifth in 2016, is the only women's team that played in Rio that did not qualify for Tokyo, the Cardinals will still be represented on the pitch as Ayeisha McFerran will play for Ireland. The field includes the returning nations of the Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, China, South Korea, Great Britain, Australia, Argentina, Japan and India. Ireland's women's team is making its Olympic debut with stars Katie Mullan and Deirdre Duke joining McFerran. At the Tokyo Olympics, 24 teams (12 in both the men's and women's competitions) will be vying for top honors at the Oi Hockey Stadium. In each section, the teams have been divided into two groups of six teams each, with the top four at the end of the round-robin stage making it to the quarterfinals with a win being worth three points and ties one.

In goal for Ireland will McFerran, a former University of Louisville standout, who becomes the first player in UofL history to earn a spot on an Olympic field hockey roster. Former Cardinal field hockey standout Jessica Javelet (2003-06) competed in the 2016 Rio Summer Games as part of USA Rugby Women's Sevens Olympic roster. McFerran, who is in her eighth year as a member of the Irish National Team, helped lead Ireland to a shootout win against Canada in an Olympic Qualifier in November 2019. With the win, the Green Army earned a bid to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, marking the first-ever berth for the Irish Women's National Team.

The Larne native has turned in multiple clutch performances for the Green Army. She was named Best Goalkeeper of the World Cup in 2018 after helped Hockey Ireland became the first in the nation's history to reach the World Cup finals. She was nominated twice for the FIH World Goalkeeper of the Year. McFerran, who played for the Cardinals from 2015-18, graduated from UofL in May 2019 after becoming the program's first four-time NFHCA All-American. She finished her career ranked among the school's top three in career victories (50) victories and shutouts (20) and goals against average (1.40).

MEN'S BASKETBALL
In addition to the above list, Jordan Nwora (2017-20 at UofL) is expected to join the Nigeria men's basketball roster for the Olympics. He is currently competing in the NBA Finals as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Nwora's 1,294 points in three seasons is tied for 31st in career scoring at UofL. He became the Cardinals' 21st All-America selection as a consensus third team choice in 2020 and was also named to the 2020 CoSIDA Academic All-America basketball second team. As a senior in 2019-20, he was the only player to rank among the ACC's top ten in scoring (18.0 ppg, second in the ACC), rebounding (7.7, 8th), free throw percentage (.813, 4th), field goal percentage (.440, 8th) and three-pointers made per game (2.5, 2nd). A 6-8 forward from Buffalo, N.Y., Nwora scored in double figures in 27 games as a senior and on 67 occasions in his career. He scored a career-high 37 points at Boston College, tied for the seventh-most ever scored at Louisville.

How to Follow the Cardinals
NBCUniversal will air more than 7,000 hours of content from the Tokyo Olympics across its networks and streaming platforms. NBC will show women's basketball, women's soccer, swimming and gymnastics and more than 5,000 hours will stream on NBColympics.com along with cable sports network NBCSN, USA Network, the Olympic Channel, The Golf Channel and CNBC.

Schedule
https://www.teamusa.org/Tokyo-College-Resource-Hub/Olympic-Schedule
https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/

Former Cardinal Olympians
https://gocards.com/sports/2016/7/14/olympics.aspx

University of Louisville Athletics

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